Husband-wife Sluchinski team chases Canada’s doubles curling title

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Historical past on the ice, and historical past off the ice.

Aaron and Amanda Sluchinski hope it results in new historical past for them on the 2024 Canadian Combined Doubles Curling Championship.

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A profitable one, particularly, is what the married couple from Airdrie intention to put in writing up.

“Yeah … I feel it’s a profitable script,” stated Aaron, simply hours forward of Sunday’s begin to the nationwide gala in Fredericton, N.B.

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“Now we have enjoyable collectively anyway.”

That’s good, as a result of it’s not daily spouses could make it work as teammates and have time doing it.

However the Sluchinskis are proving it will possibly occur, recalling the magic of yesteryear — they had been Alberta School Athletic Convention champions collectively as soon as upon a time — to win the Alberta playdowns final month and earn a berth within the Canadian blended doubles occasion.

“Yeah … it’s sort of been dynamic truly simply by way of her sort of being out of the sport for some time,” stated Aaron, 36. “She simply lets me take the lead, and I inform her precisely what I would like from every thing, and she or he does it and does properly at it.

“If I stated that to different companions, they’d most likely simply inform me the place to go. So it’s labored properly for us to this point.”

The trick now’s kicking it up a notch within the pursuit of Canadian curling glory.

In any case, there are some grand names at nationals.

In actual fact, Brent Laing and Jennifer Jones — the defending champs — can be there.

As will Calgary’s Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman — the 2019 winners and finalists final yr.

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Each are married {couples}, as properly.

“I really feel like I’m wildly unqualified,” stated 35-year-old Amanda, who’s spent the years since her curling-infused faculty life with the MacEwan Griffins specializing in her profession and being a mom to children Lincoln, 8, and Evelyn, 3.

“As soon as I graduated out of juniors, I performed a few years of girls’s, however then I used to be going again to working full-time and I wished to return to high school full-time. And while you compete, you need to have the ability to put on a regular basis in to it to achieve success, and I didn’t really feel like that was doable. So I took a step again and I’ve simply been sort of enjoying for enjoyable for like — gosh, I don’t know — what a decade, 15 years? I at all times attempt to maintain my toe just a little bit in it and nonetheless enjoying.”

But it surely wasn’t till the children obtained just a little older and Aaron began to totally decide to curling that the drive for the sport absolutely arrived once more for Amanda.

And it opened proper up when Brittany Tran — Aaron’s accomplice final yr at blended nationals — needed to put aside doubles provincial duties for the essential process of making an attempt to win the 2023 Scotties Match of Hearts with Alberta’s Kayla Skrlik.

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Husband and spouse teamed up for that Alberta blended motion after which determined to resume their full-time partnership on the ice this season.

“When Aaron began enjoying doubles, I used to be like, ‘That appears like enjoyable,’” Amanda stated. “You then sort of get hooked again on that aggressive really feel of like, ‘Oh, I’m again in it — this feels actually good.’ And so we had been capable of make it work that we performed collectively this yr.

“But it surely’s actually enjoyable filling out these participant profiles (for the blended doubles nationals) when it’s ‘What are your current accomplishments?’” continued Amanda. “It’s like, ‘I don’t actually have any — can we return 20 years?’ So enjoying in provincials and profitable them, I lastly have a current accomplishment to placed on a participant profile.”

Plus she’s obtained that lovely new Wild Rose shirt and jacket, with ’SLUCHINSKI’ stitched throughout the again to match her husband’s, additional confirming that she’s again on the large stage.

“I lastly have my very own Alberta jacket,” stated Amanda excitedly. “When it confirmed up the opposite day, I used to be fairly excited to tear into that field and check out on that stuff. However I feel it’ll be just a little completely different getting there and really sporting it at that competitors.”

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That begins for the Sluchinskis in opposition to Greg and Lauren Cheal — not married however siblings — from Lennoxville, Que., early Sunday (7 a.m. MT, plus.curling.ca).

It’s their first of seven round-robin contests within the 24-team, four-pool nationals hosted by Aitken College Centre and the Capital Winter Membership.

A complete of 12 duos — the highest three in every pool — advance to the playoff spherical, starting Thursday.

The champions can be then topped after Friday’s finale (10 a.m. MT).

“There isn’t a ton of like slam-level gamers, however there’s a ton of excellent groups that play blended doubles all yr,” stated Aaron, who noticed a lot of these top-notch curlers on the Brier earlier this month. “You’ve got most of the high 20 groups in Canada all competing in it after which one other 12 that received their province. So that you’ve obtained all the highest groups in Canada — perhaps not the highest general expertise — however no video games are going to be simple. Particularly in blended doubles, something can occur. So that you simply sort of have to search out your groove and possibly must win 5 out of your seven video games in your pool to make playoffs.”

“You’ll be able to’t go in considering that any sport is gonna be simple,” added Amanda, who is aware of her relationship with Aaron permits her to “name him on a few of his stuff on the ice typically. “I really feel comfy doing that. My greatest factor is Aaron has a ton of expertise on a number of the area ice and people circumstances, whereas I’ve had lots much less, so I’m going to positively depend on him on that. And he’s been practising with me making an attempt to get me all competition-ready, however I feel I’ve a way of what it’s going to be.

“I’m excited. It’s gonna be nice. I’m wanting ahead to it.”

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

http://www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM

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